Morning everyone. Denmark may be the home of Hans Christian Andersen, but Australian has its own fairytale now after the Socceroos entered the nation’s sporting folklore by reaching the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar overnight. With a team of lower league players facing off against Danish opponents from Europe’s top clubs, progress to match the “golden generation” of 2006 seemed unlikely. But now, if anyone can get back to sleep after all that excitement, they’ll keep the nation dreaming.
Australia
‘Magnificent’ | Australia’s 1-0 win in Qatar, courtesy of Mathew Leckie’s superb individual goal, sparked wild celebrations back home. The country’s fourth win at the World Cup ignited the crowd in Melbourne’s Federation Square, pictured, and the prime minister tweeted his congratulations. Relive the tense encounter in Scott Murray’s minute-by-minute report. The victory means that Australia finished second in their group behind France and can now look forward to a knockout tie on Sunday, possibly against Argentina though that depends on other matches this morning.
Exclusive | A New South Wales high school principal has been banned from interacting with students while police investigate a claim of alleged historical child sexual abuse of a student when he was 17 and she was in her late 40s.
Covid compo | More than 900 people placed on work orders for Covid fines now known to be entirely invalid could be compensated by the New South Wales government for their unpaid labour or training.
Weather woes | Australia has seen its second-wettest spring on record and it was also the coldest spring in decades, with the temperature in Sydney and Melbourne failing to reach 30C on any day. Brisbane’s spring was the coldest in 12 years and Perth’s was the coldest in six.
Toyah Cordingley | Rajwinder Singh, the man accused of killing Toyah Cordingley on a beach in Queensland, has made his first court appearance in Delhi as authorities seek to extradite him back to Australia to face trial.
World
Guangzhou surprise | Authorities have abruptly lifted Covid restrictions in the Chinese city of Guangzhou after days of rare mass protests against the lockdowns across the country. Four Chinese people tell us what it’s like living under such strict conditions.
Cryptos ‘irrelevant’ | The European Central Bank says bitcoin is on an “artificially induced last gasp before the road to irrelevance”, in a scathing intervention arguing against giving regulatory legitimacy to the cryptocurrency.
Counted out | Republican officials in a rural Arizona county face two lawsuits, likely court intervention to force their vote and potential criminal penalties after refusing to certify midterm election results.
Jiang Zemin dies | The former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, who led his country out of isolation after the Tiananmen Square massacre, has died aged 96. He also oversaw a decade of economic reforms and huge growth.
Palace apology | A member of the Buckingham Palace household has resigned and apologised after a black guest at a reception was left traumatised after allegedly being questioned repeatedly by a royal aide about where she was from.
Full Story
Anthony Albanese and the new politics – with Katharine Murphy
Our political editor Katharine Murphy talks about the transformation of Anthony Albanese, and his plan to navigate this new political landscape to create a long-term Labor government.
In-depth
After his unusual apology for raising rates when he said they would remain low, the Reserve Bank governor, Philip Lowe, may find himself having to do a mea culpa for keeping rates too high for too long. That’s the verdict of our resident economics expert, Greg Jericho, who sees signs that inflation may have peaked and that borrowing costs might start coming down.
Not the news
From the races to a blood-red moon, and from floods to bare bums on the beach, November was a busy month for news. Our picture editors have compiled this stunning gallery of the best shots.
The world of sport
Cricket | The old firm of Marnus Labuschagne, pictured, and Steve Smith have put Australia in charge of the first Test against the West Indies in Perth, ending unbeaten and closing the day on 293-2.
World Cup | In a tournament of shocks, Tunisia produced a real collector’s item by beating France 1-0 in their final Group D game. But it wasn’t enough to go through, thanks to a certain team in green and gold.
Rugby union | The Wallabies’ European tour saw some mixed results but they gained two important scalps and saw the emergence of a new generation of players.
Media roundup
The Australian reckons Anthony Albanese’s government is on a collision course with army veterans if it allows former soldiers to be stripped of medals for failing to prevent war crimes in Afghanistan. The Sydney Morning Herald describes the “bizarre moment” when a portrait of former prime minister Tony Abbott was unveiled in Canberra with a tribute from Albanese. The Herald Sun says war has been declared on the Comanchero bikie gang to “rid them from our shores”. The West Australian produced a “very special late edition” to mark Australia’s World Cup win with the headline “It was our Leckie day!”
What’s happening today
Lockdown suit | A case management conference for class actions by businesses against the state of Victoria for economic loss during Covid lockdowns.
Tyrrell judgment | A judgment is due in the malicious prosecution case brought by a former suspect in the William Tyrrell case.
Teeing off | The men’s and women’s Australian Open golf championships both start at the Victoria golf club in Melbourne.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.
